Yes, pets — just like people — can have significant cognitive decline as they age. And Jeffrey Kaye, director of OHSU’s Layton Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease Center, was recently part of a USA Weekend story talking about ways to prevent cognitive decline in pets.

Some of the basics: exercise, enrichment activities, and good nutrition.

“We’re pretty convinced that engaging novel activities and increasing and changing around the complexity of the environment are all effective at helping to preserve brain volume in rats, and probably in dogs and in people,” Kaye told the newspaper.